Kenny Smith exited the NBA on the TNT set Wednesday night in the wake of the postponement of three playoff games scheduled for the same day.
The postponements came in the wake of the Milwaukee Bucks boycotting their game against the Orlando Magic in response to Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man killed by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin Sunday.
Blake, 29, was paralyzed from the waist down and the shooting sparked multiple protests across the country against police brutality and systemic racism.
“Right now my head is poised to explode as in thought of what’s going on,” Kenny Smith told viewers and his co-hosts Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. “I don’t know if I’m appropriate enough to say what the players feel and how they feel. I haven’t talked to any players.
“Even driving here and going into the studio… hearing calls and people talking. … And for me, I think the most important thing now. As a black man as a former player, I think it’s better for me to support the players and just not be here tonight.
“And I realized what happens next,” added Smith as he left the set.
The NBA players are expected to meet on Wednesday night to determine whether to continue with the playoffs.
Even more MLB games were postponed on Wednesday.
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